If meat represents masculinity, it would seem men would be more
likely than women to prefer meat to other foods — a means of reinforcing
gender. To test this idea, the researchers analyzed data of more than
2,000 university students who indicated how much they liked or disliked
various foods. Male students were significantly more likely than female
students to like beef, meat and orange juice; and the women were significantly
more likely than guys to like salad and vegetables.

This "masculine meat" phenomenon seems to hold in other
countries as well. In one study of 23 languages with gendered pronouns,
the researchers found "that the vast majority of these gendered
words and these languages associate meat with the masculine pronoun,"
Wansink told LiveScience.